God is whoever I want him to be…?
July 1st, 2006 by boon
I wrote the God-fun article not too long ago, and a good friend of mine posted a comment, which was relatively lengthy and thought provoking. Here’s what he said: link
So, because I believe in proper research rather than blind faith.. and also because I respect my friends for who they are and they have been there for me in the past, I decided to take the comment seriously.
To avoid getting too technical, I’ll try to sum it up as a personal story:
In 98, something about a girl happened to me which didn’t work out, and I somehow found myself attending bible studies with some college groups in the USA. It was better than bemoaning my circumstances, and the stuff was really interesting as I had never expected.
Firstly, I realized that almost all of the bible speaks in context of historical events, rather than myth. I’ve done my homework, and I’m convinced it’s accurate enough. And since the world is still generally arguing over this after 2000 years, I’m not going to bother explaining. (Oh, it’s the Bible! Shoot it down!)
Secondly, I also realized that the way the bible is written reads a lot like our contemporary daily news: human beings are really a bunch of messed up people. It doesn’t try to puff up humanity. It deflates pride and arrogance, and the character of God is consistent throughout 2000 years’ worth of it all.
So… if men would have made up God, it would’ve been a playboy pin-up girl. If women made up God, it would’ve been a domesticated hunk. That’s probably why some people have so many gods (some are animals, some are fat happy guys, some are guys with breasts, some are atheists, and so on).
Most people I know don’t really like the God of the Bible, which is why you must kill God in order to live the way you want – no barriers.
Thirdly, most of the Christians I met and still love and hang out with aren’t jerks. They’re real people with real lives, and we’ve grown a lot together over the years.
Fourthly, God revealed himself to me way back then, and speaks to me on a daily basis. So, it’s kind of hard to erase him from my heart and mind. And He’s still the same, though I also tried to change that.
Anyway, I do a lot of bible background checks from wikipedia, so that may satisfy some of the technical bits. I don’t really believe all of it is true, but it’s quite a comprehensive summary of the stuff.
The question I had to answer myself at the end of my journey in 1998, wasn’t whether to decide whether the bible was fact or fiction. It was the question of “ok, so this God is real, now what should I do?”
So, I made my up my mind.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_the_Bible
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_archaeology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bible_and_history